When we think of St Patrick’s Day we often think of green beer and rowdy bar sing-alongs. But this day filled with shamrocks and rainbows can become a fun and festive tradition for the entire family. Whether you host an after school party for the neighborhood kids, or plan a special family dinner to ignite their inner Irish, here are some FUN-TASTIC, family friendly and frugal ideas to commemorate this day of green goodness.

You don’t need to spend a lot of money buying specialty decorations. If you have any green table settings, GREAT! If not start with a neutral palette of white, tan, gray or gold then invest in green as accents. Choose hues that will carry into springtime and summer entertaining. Lime, Spring Bud and Celadon are great choices for this season. Green does not need to be that medium dark shade to communicate St. Patrick’s Day.

Let them eat right off the table! It’s amazing how much candy comes in various shades of green. Sprinkle assorted green candy around the table for a festive punch of color and a tasty treat.

This is the perfect time to use natural wonders as table decorations. You think Ireland, you think natural green and gorgeous. Capitalize on that image and pull plants from the garden to serve as green centerpieces. Green food makes the most beautiful designs. Use a simple bowl of green grapes and apples; slice beautiful limes to shine through a vase. Don’t like cooked cabbage? Keep with the St Paddy theme and use it as a table decoration! Use what you have and accent with what’s on sale this week at the market.

Now that you have a beautiful base, kick up the Irish. Use your back yard game of horseshoes as lucky party decorations, bring out that witches kettle from Halloween and fill it with chocolate coin candy, pull out a green holiday basket, or use your jewelry box or your child’s toy chest to hide magical treasures deep inside for guest to find! Run 5 colors of ribbon across the table to make a rainbow, use cutouts of four leaf clovers as place cards or table confetti. It’s surprising what you already have that will provide great Irish flair.

For a creative play on the day, kick it Irish old school by incorporating hues of blue. Since blue was the original color associated with St. Patrick’s Day be creative and use it in your party palette. Select a tablecloth in lively colors of blue and green. Use bright yellow flowers in a green vase to represent a Leprechaun’s pot of gold, emulate the Irish rainbow with a few Rainbow Roses. Let your wild Irish imagination run wild like the Cliffs of Dover.

For a great assortment of St. Patrick’s Day games visit www.primarygames.com. This website has delivers family fun with games themed for each special occasion! And best of all it’s FREE!